Kurt Busch drove away from these safety workers without wearing his helmet during Sunday's race at Talladega. NASCAR parked him for the rest of the race. / Todd Warshaw, Getty Images

by Heather Tucker, USA TODAY Sports

by Heather Tucker, USA TODAY Sports

Kurt Busch will not be penalized for his actions Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR has announced.

After parking Busch for the remainder of the race and meeting with him afterward, NASCAR decided no further action was necessary.

Busch drove away from a NASCAR official and safety crew without his helmet after he ran out of gas and crashed while leading in his final event with Phoenix Racing. Busch said at the time he didn't heed NASCAR's call to stop because he wasn't wearing his helmet and couldn't hear.

When Busch drove away, one safety worker was leaning through the right side window opening. A safety worker's bag, which was on the trunk of the car, fell off.

It marks another auspicious ending for Busch and a NASCAR team. He left Penske Racing after six seasons at the end of last year after multiple altercations with reporters. The Las Vegas native announced in late September he was leaving Phoenix for Furniture Row Racing, starting this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Busch registered two top-10s with Phoenix Racing, including a third-place finish at Sonoma in June. He also had problems, starting in May in Darlington when a post-race incident with Ryan Newman's crew earned him a $50,000 fine and probation. That probation was extended after he verbally abused a media member at the June race in Dover.

After the incident Sunday, Busch blamed his competitiveness for his actions.

"That's the competitor in me, that's the desire that I have,'' he said. "That's what gets misconstrued all the time. This is the way my life works. Today is a perfect example. I'm leading, I wreck, I run out of gas. I'm still that competitive guy to try to get back in the race and now NASCAR is yelling at me because I don't have my helmet on and I'm trying to get it to the garage so the guys can work on it.

"This is my life. I'm not complaining. I've put myself in a lot of these situations.''

When Busch announced he was leaving the No. 51 for the No. 78, some speculated it was a lateral move for the 2004 Sprint Cup champion -- hopping from one one-car team to another.

At the time the deal was announced, he said: "That's a slap in the face to (team owner) Barney Visser. It really is. He has put together a program that is tiers above where James Finch is. James will admit to that, but Barney Visser and this program are committed."

Now it remains to be seen how committed Busch is to another fresh start -- and keeping his nose clean.